Sweatshirt hood drawstrings and any cord draped around the neck can cause injury and/or death if accidentally ensnared. Ski lifts, playground equipment or amusement rides are all potentially lethal if a drawstring becomes entangled in them. Movement is underway to legislate a law to mandate breakaway links in all drawstrings worn about the neck.
Even without a law, common sense tells us that an inexpensive and unobtrusive breakaway link is desirous for any cord draped around the neck. The below listed patents disclose related efforts to add a safety link to a cord.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,947 (1984) to Lyons discloses a pair of symmetrical cord safety releases. The pair is joined together by a dovetail joint. A hinged lever has gripping teeth to secure the cord. The levers can be opened to enable pulling the cord tight.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,298 (1990) to Langhart et al. discloses a safety pull cord for windows. A hand held pull assembly breaks in half if a child accidentally tries to strangle himself. The device would not function as a safety cord device because a 180.degree. pulling of the cords cannot be done without separating the halves.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,074 (1990) to Bullat et al. discloses a cord safety release mechanism having a ball encased in a slitted cylindrical-shaped spring housing member. The spring housing spreads at a preset limit, thereby releasing the ball. The cord must be knotted to a loop on the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,891 (1990) to Chou discloses a tough, but removable, connection of a flat strap to a hook. No quick release safety features are included.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,477 (1991) to Seron discloses a breakaway necklace. A flat female clip mates with a pair of plastic fingers to provide a preset release mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,858 (1993) to Otrusina discloses a male/female locking pair for joining a pager and the like to a belt.
The '947 patent is the closest known prior art. Dovetail connections hold a pair of fastener parts together. The dovetail connections break away at a safe tension to prevent choking. The fastener parts also have a releasing lever and grip teeth to hold the cord end. Thus, the device has a second function of serving as a drawstring to adjust the length of the cord. The device is about ten times wider than the cord. It is, therefore, unsuitable for use inside a hood or in any unobtrusive application. Furthermore, the device is large enough to become a hazard itself in that it is prone to catch on things. It is also noted that two molds are needed to manufacture the product, one for the dovetail tongue, and one for the dovetail groove. Each mold would cost about $30,000.
The present invention is unobtrusive, small, and inexpensive. One mold creates one piece. It has one purpose, to act as a breakaway cord connector. Tongue and groove guide rails and a simple retainer boss provide for a secure, yet dependable, safety link for a thin cord. It has a torpedo like shape which enables it to slide through narrow passageways.